Watch What You Eat

I do watch what I eat. My eyes followed a Krispy Kreme donut from the plate where it began its journey all the way to the point where it faded from view under my nose as it reached its destination, my mouth. I watched a pizza travel from the Boboli bag to the middle shelf of the oven. Earlier today my eyes took in a less interesting scene … a lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad with a whole-wheat bagel chaser.

Four or five years ago, my then new doctor suggested I lose some weight and exercise more. Didn’t he know I was a skinny kid? And I was a skinny adult till about ten years ago. As a self-respecting boomer, I chose not to call this middle age spread, as my parents had done during their weightier days. For one thing, I’m not in middle age – that’s sixty-something, isn’t it? For another, I did not believe I had gained weight. I was always skinny. Forget that I permanently abandoned my previous waist size for the second time. I was in denial. I had recently purchased a pair of pants in the next size up.

OK, so he was right. So I watched fewer bowls of ice cream find their way to my table. Fewer meals at McDonalds. Less pasta. More exercise … 15 minutes on the treadmill instead of 10. The next doctor visit was the one with the high blood pressure scare. It scared me enough that I finally followed some of his specific advice. A lot less pasta, a lot less ice cream, cereal instead of eggs for most breakfasts, more salads. Thirty minutes on the treadmill, minimum.

My blood pressure has been back to normal for every visit since, so that scary one might have been a false alarm. Who cares? It worked. I’ve lost 20 pounds since then, gained some of it back last fall between Katrina and Christmas, but have lost some more since then.

Tonight I watched a pizza, but this morning my view was of Wheaties and yogurt. Lunch today was the afore-mentioned salad. The Boomer Diet. I Plan to live well into old age, which by then should be called middle age. I will continue to watch what I eat.